News Wrap: Israel receives remains believed to be one of last 2 Gaza hostages

Geoff Bennett:

The day's other headlines begin in the Middle East.

For the second day in a row, Israel has received remains believed to be those of one of the last two hostages still held in Gaza. Palestinian militants transferred a white body bag to the Red Cross seen here in footage captured by our producer in Gaza, Shams Odeh. Israel says it will conduct forensic testing after remains handed over yesterday did not match either hostage.

All this comes as Israel says it would soon open a critical border crossing with Egypt that's been closed since may of 2024. Israel's military says it will allow Palestinians to leave Gaza via the Rafah Crossing, but Egypt says, citing the terms of the cease-fire, that movement must go both ways. Israel says it won't allow Palestinians to reenter Gaza until all hostage remains are returned.

Here at home, President Trump has proposed rolling back fuel efficiency standards set by the Biden administration in a push to make it easier for automakers to sell gas-powered vehicles.

President Donald Trump:

We're bringing back the car industry that was stolen from us because we have people that didn't know what they were doing sitting at this desk.

Geoff Bennett:

In the Oval Office, President Trump touted the move alongside auto executives and Republican lawmakers, saying it would make cars more affordable. The new standards would reduce fuel economy from the Biden standard of 50 miles per gas to an average of 34.5 miles per gallon by the year 2031.

The Biden era rules were intended to promote the production of electric vehicles. Transportation remains the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

A dozen former FDA commissioners say they're deeply concerned about proposed changes that would create a far stricter process for vaccine approvals. They penned an article in "The New England Journal of Medicine." It comes as a federal vaccine advisory panel is also expected to change a longstanding guidelines on immunizing newborns against the liver infection hepatitis B.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunizations, which has been overhauled by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. meets tomorrow for a two-day meeting, where they will make their recommendations formal. Federal health recommendations currently suggest babies get the hep B shot within 24 hours of birth. The American Academy of Pediatrics says it will still urge a dose at birth, no matter the panel's findings.

On Wall Street, stocks ended up for the second straight day and are once again approaching record levels. The Dow Jones industrial average added more than 400 points, while the Nasdaq gained 40 points. The S&P 500 pulled within a half-percent of its all-time high.

And it's become a bit of an annual holiday tradition, Spotify Wrapped. The streaming platform released its year-end summary of popular artists and trends today. The most played artist in the world was superstar Bad Bunny. It's his fourth time racking up the most streams. And he dethrones Taylor Swift, who held the top spot two years in a row, although we should point out for Taylor Swift fans she still ranked first in the U.S.

The top song globally was "Die With a Smile," the Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars collaboration, and "The Joe Rogan Experience" was the platform's top podcast for a sixth consecutive year.